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Oil in Bowl and Dough Still Sticks

Oil in Bowl and Dough Still Sticks

Hello all. I'm new here but have been lurking for ages and must say that I'm impressed that so many give so much help to others and the professionalism displayed. I hope I've posted this in the correct place.

Excuse any incorrect terminology. My problem seems so stupid and basic in that when I mix my dough, by hand, I place it in a lightly oil bowl and it sticks. It stick only slightly but still sticks following the dough rising. What I do is to place the dough in the oiled bowl and cover with clingfilm and wrap this tight around the rim of the bowl. Being tight causes condensation where this moisture encircles the top edge of the risen dough and I suspect seeps down between the glass and dough. In part, I think that I have left the dough too long as it triples in not more in size and becomes very weak. This however I've done in the hope of developing flavour. I do wonder if perhaps I should leave a small gap so that I do not get condensation. So far, what I have produced is edible but my shaping skills need much work. Thank you in advance.

When you oil the bowl, do you in turn also roll the dough all over the oil in the bowl so that its surface is also covered in oil? You need to do that, otherwise the dough will likely stick. Covering your bowl with plastic wrap shouldn't be a cause for the stickiness.

I suspect that you are fermenting too long and losing so much dough strength that even normal surface tension is enough to rip the dough (you can't pull it away from the bowl without tearing it). If you want to let if ferment longer, reduce the temperature somewhat (perhaps 60°F instead of room temperature) and do a stretch and fold when the dough has doubled.

But as an experiment you should just do a S&F after the dough doubles and see if you still have the sticking problem. I suspect it will not stick if you follow the guidance from thihal123 above and make sure you have fully oiled the outside of the dough ball.

If you have the time in your schedule, you might want to try some preferments like a poolish, where a portion of the flour is mixed with water and a very small amount of yeast and fermented overnight. This is then mixed with the other ingredients (flour, water, salt, and other desired flavorings, seeds, etc.) for the final dough. You will be surprised how much additional flavor this adds to breads without having to extend the bulk and final proofing stages.

Sorry for the delayed reply here due to work etc. Thank you to thihal123 for this idea. I have to be honest and say that I did not cover the dough in oil as I thought that this may prevent the slight skin forming on the dough and therefore not help with its formation. I shall try this next time. Living alone, I can't eat enough bread to really get the practice in.

Doc.Dough. Thanks also. I think that you may well be correct about the over fermentation and losing strength. I have read much here and in all honesty, become somewhat confused with the whole process due to being new to this bread baking game. As to temperature, I proof overnight in the fridge at 4 degree and still I seem to have an excess amount of fermentation 8 - 10 hours later. My mix on the last try was 500g strong bread flour, 300g water, 15g butter, 8g ADY and 10 g sugar. All mixed by hand with the yeast added a little later with perhaps 25g from the 300g of water. Temperature in this house are at about 62F. (cost of heating to consider). I did do the stretch and fold and this helped to tighten things up with the final bread not too bad.

Thanks to Brad also. Preferments are on the list of things to do. I'm all very excited about what started as a money saving exercise. In the past with bought bread I never gave it a second thought or even looked at the crumb much. Having started this, I all for experiments and hope to impress myself in the future but at this point, I trying to gain a basic understanding.

I'm looking at the purchase of a book such as BBA or something similar. However, I'm not even sure which book would be best to start with. Following reading much on this forum, I'm now even confused about the recipes in an American book. I'm not concerned about the quantities so much as the ingredients that may be required and the names in American books vs UK names.

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